By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 28th at 01:12 AM  | 

Unfortunately, one of the only conservative think tanks in Kansas appears to be in contract discussions with a company owned by elected Republican Senator Julia Lynn, despite ongoing questions about whether Sen. Lynn, in 2008, sold her very first vote as a duly-elected official for around $50,000 to the far-left Senate leadership. Apparently, a key state-wide conservative think tank, the Kansas Policy Institute, is making | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 20th at 11:40 PM  | 

I encour­age Kansas read­ers to get to know one or more John­son County con­ser­v­a­tive group.  I’ll men­tion three groups, all recently formed:  the Gardner-Edgerton Repub­li­can Cen­tral Com­mit­tee, the Con­ser­v­a­tive Repub­li­cans of South­ern John­son County, and Kansans for State and Local Reform. Each group has a unique focus and feel, but the main pur­pose is the same: pro­mote con­ser­v­a­tive issues and can­di­dates, when no one else will. | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 20th at 05:16 AM  | 

Kansas Secretary of State Kris W. Kobach Governor Sam Brownback signed HB 2240 on May 12, 2011, a bill my office advocated to improve oversight of cemetery trust funds for the benefit of Kansans. The secretary of state’s office has a statutory duty to audit certain cemetery corporation trust funds to confirm that they are financially able to meet required obligations to purchasers over time. | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 18th at 06:12 AM  | 

Via Harvard economist Greg Mankiw. Professor Mankiw highlights the following study (PDF) by Tim Conley, economist at University of Western Ontario, and Bill Dupor, economist at Ohio State University.  Emphasis is mine: Tim Conley and Bill Dupor have a new paper on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (that is, the Obama stimulus bill).  Their empirical findings: Our benchmark results suggest that the ARRA created/saved approximately 450 | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 12th at 02:48 AM  | 

By Gene Meyer, KansasReporter May 11, 2011 Re-published with permission TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas’ legislative budget negotiators late Wednesday evening struck a deal designed to end the state’s fiscal 2012 spending plan with a $50 million surplus.

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 9th at 09:28 PM  | 

Our Email on the Kansas budget from the Kansans for State and Local Reform PAC. Position of Kansans for State and Local Reform PAC: Legislators should vote “no” on any budget that increases the state spending (SGF) by more than 3% over last year’s budget. Why 3%: That number equals the rate of inflation plus population growth. Right now in Topeka, Legislators are making final changes | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 9th at 02:37 AM  | 

The Monitor covers statements made by Rep. Charlotte O’Hara (R-OP): “Freshman claims state has sold its soul to the federal government, taking funds that obligate future spending.” The article includes a video interview with Kansas Rep. O’Hara, courtesy the Kansas Watchdog

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  May 4th at 07:18 PM  | 

The following is my article in The Monitor.  The Monitor is the re-branded name for The Citizen, and it’s the Kansas City Metro’s premier center-right print and online publication.  Make sure and bookmark KCMonitor.com for regular updates on news from Kansas, Missouri, and the Kansas City area.  Click here to learn where to find one of the 200 locations distributing this free print newspaper. This article is re-published with permission. | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  April 28th at 05:25 PM  | 

Friends, It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of our friend and colleague, Representative Rocky Fund who lost his fight with cancer this morning.   Representative Fund was in his third term representing District 50- Jefferson and parts of Shawnee Counties.  He, his wife Linda, and his family will be in our hearts and prayers.  We thank him for the years of public | Read More »

By: Benjamin Hodge (Diary)  |  April 28th at 03:56 AM  | 

Letter from Kansas Representative Charlotte O’Hara, an Overland Park Republican. Dear friends, How can Kansas with a Republican Governor and Republican control of both the House and Senate pass budgets that have a 6.7% increase in the State General Fund? How can an amendment to the appropriations bill in the House enacting a spending freeze at 2011 levels only garner 8 votes out 125? Why wasn’t | Read More »